This invention relates to improvements in a personal weight scale which conveys health awareness messages for persons using the scale based upon departures of a person's actual weight from what is deemed to be an ideal weight for that person. In certain respects the invention of this application is an improvement upon the Applicant's patent of the same title, U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,710, issued Mar. 25, 1986.
The importance of a person's weight to that person's health is generally recognized. Moreover, where the person suffers from one or more of certain types of medical conditions, weight can have an even more important effect on the person's health. This is discussed in detail in the Applicant's aforementioned patent, and one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide further enhancements in this type of equipment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a personal weight scale of the aforementioned type is adapted to general family use for conveyance of health-promoting, weight-related messages to certain individuals who need or wish to receive such messages and for conveyance of weight information alone to others who may not need or wish to receive such messages. According to another aspect of the invention, a personal weight scale apparatus is associated with a television receiver whose screen is used to display health-promoting, weight-related messages from the personal weight scale apparatus when the "Scale" mode of operation is selected. When a "TV" mode of operation is selected, the television receiver can be operated to receive television transmissions of television programs and present them on the screen. Still further aspects of the invention relate to the manner of its implimentation and to its particular details.
The foregoing features, advantages, and benefits of the invention will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention.